Cabinet construction



Feb- 25, 1936- G. F. FoRsTHoEl-EL CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed May 2,41934 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR Gama F. Fans-morera..

WITNESSES:

ATTO EY Feb- 25, 1936. G. F. FoRsTHoEl-'EL 2,031,701

CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed May 2, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 2 WITNEssEs:|NvENToR l GRn-Gef. F'ore srHoEFsL d 7n. La L?! 26 y I l @W ATTOPatented Feb. 25, 193s CABINET. CONSTRUC'ION Gregg F. Forsthoefel,Springfield, Mass., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & ManufacturingCompany, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationMay 2, 1934, Serial No. 723,433

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a refrigerator cabinet and particularly to adispensing cabinet, which may be used, for example, for cooling bottledbeverages.

It is an object of my invention to provide a bottle cooler cabinet inwhich a frameless structure for supporting various portions of thecabinet is used.

vIt is another object of the invention to provide a heat insulatedcontainer or tank for a bottle cooler cabinet, the heat insulation ofwhich is effectively sealed from the atmosphere.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a frameless bottlecooler cabinet of sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand theservice for which it is intended.

It is another object of my invention to provide a method of assembly fora bottle cooler cabinet which is adapted to a cabinet of the framelesstype and which is adaptable to large production methods. y

Itis still another object of my invention to provide a bottle coolercabinet which is attractive in appearance and which provides for the useof ice cooling or mechanical refrigeration and also provides space fordry storage of bottles.

These and other objects are effected by my invention, as will beapparent from the following description and claims taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my bottle cooler cabinet;y

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of my bottle cooler cabinet takenon line II-II of Fig. 4, and showing thel bottle container and heatinsulation in section; p

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of my bottle cooler cabinet taken online III- III of Fig. 4; and,

Fig. 4 is a second vertical sectional -view of the cabinet taken on lineIV-IV of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description of my invention,numeral I designates generally a cabinet for use in cooling anddispensing bottled beverages. y,

The cabinet is formed of a plurality of vertically-extending outer sheet`metal walls including end Walls 2, a front wall 3 and a rear wall 4.The end walls 2 are provided withvan outwardly stamped panel 5 whichforms a reenforcing rib 6 andincidentally improves the appearance oftheV cabinet. The end walls 2 extend 'downwardly a greater distance thanthe front wall 3 and rear wall 4. 'I'he front wal13 and rear wall 4 areprovided with an underlapping flange 1 at the side edges thereof whichcooperate with overlapping flanges 3 on the side edges of the end walls2. The flanges 1 and 8 are secured together by any suitable means, suchas by welding, to form a vertically extending sheet metal envelope.Suitable sealing means, such as an asphalt compound, is applied to thejoint thus formed. The flanges 8 on side Walls 2 extend to the bottom ofthe side walls and are again flanged inwardly at I0 as shown in Fig. 4.y

The upper ends of the front wall 3 and back wall 4 are rounded andflattened as shown at II and are provided with downwardly turned anges9. The side walls 2 are also bentto form horizontal fiat portions II andlikewise are provided with downwardly turned flanges I2. The front wall3 and back wall 4 are further provided with inturned flanges I3 at thebottom thereof for a purpose hereinafter described.

After the outer envelope comprising the sheet metal ,walls 2, 3, and 4is fabricated, the assembly is turned upside down and a galvanized metaltub or bottle container I4 is positioned within the walls 2, 3, and 4.The tub I4 is open at 23 at the top thereof and the peripheral edge ofthe tub at the opening 26 rests on the inner side of the flat portionsIl of the side walls 2, 3, and 4. The flanges 9 and I2 overlap the edgesof the tub I4 and are spaced slightly therefrom.

Insulation I5 of any suitable type is disposed between the outer walls23, and 4 and the vertical walls of the tub I4. Insulation I6,preferably of the solid type, is disposed at the bottom of the tub I4.An asphalt compound, shown at I6a is poured on the surface of theinsulation I6 adjacent the tub I4. Ribbed strips of metal I1 forsupporting the tub I4 and insulation I5 and I6 are attached to theflanges I3 of the front and back Walls 3 and 4by any suitable means,such as by welding. A drain connectionla extends through the insulationI6 and the` bottom of the tub I4 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and isprovided with a spigot I 9 positioned slightly in front of the frontwall 3.

` After the insulation and drain are in `proper position, and thesupporting strips I'I attached to the walls 3 and 4, a hot sealingcompound, preferably of an asphalt compound, shown at 2|, 'is poured onthe bottom of the insulation I6. Such compounds harden when they cool.Asphalt compound is also poured between the downturnedanges 9 and I2 andthe edges of the tub I4, as shown at 22, thus-effectively sealing theinsulation I5 and I6 from the outside atmosphere.

Struts or connecting members 23 are attached at the bottoms of thesidewalls 2, preferably by welding to the flanges 8. As shown in Figs. 3and 4, the connecting members 23 are provided with flanges 24 along thetop thereof. Ribbed supporting members 25 for supporting cases ofbottles or a refrlgerating mechanism, or both, are attached to theflanges 25, preferably by welding. Glider legs 2S are attached to thestrut members 23 and to some of the case supporting members 25.

'Ihe opening between the front wall 3 and the front strut member 23 ispreferably closed by a removable panel 26a. The opening in the back ofthe cabinet is similarly covered by a panel (not shown) provided withlouvers for the circulation of air over a refrigerating unit which maybe positioned o n the supporting members 25.

A gasket 21 is fastened by any suitable means, such as by cementing,tothe at anges l0 and Il at the tops of the front and rear walls 3 and 4and of the side walls 2. An insulated cover 28, hinged preferably at 29,is supported on the gasket 2l so that access may be obtained to thecontainer I4. Handles 30 are provided on the cover 28. Y

A bottle opener 3| for crown bottle caps is provided on the front of thecabinet, and a removable bottle cap catcher 32 is also provided. 'Ihecap catcher 32 preferably also covers the spigot I3, thereby improvingthe appearance of the cabinet.

A removable tube guard 34 is provided on the rear wall 4 of the cabinet.Conduits 33 may be connected to a compressor-condenser unit (not shown)beneath the container Il or in some remote position,. and to anevaporator (not shown) in the container.

The design of the beverage cabinet shown in Figure 1 of the drawings isfully disclosed and claimed in the design patent to E. Worthington,#92.639, and assigned to the Coca-Cola. Cornpany.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a strong,frameless refrigerator cabinet for cooling and dispensing bottledbeverages, which cabinet is pleasing in appearance. The cabinet is alsowell adapted to be made by largeproductlon methods and a novel method ofconstruction is utilized. The cabinet is adaptable to either ice ormechanical cooling.

While I `have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof `various changes and modifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore; that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specificallyset forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. An open topped cabinet for articles to be cooled comprising aplurality of vertically extending and connected sheet metal front, back,

and end walls, said end walls extending below the front and back wallsand forming a supporting structure for the cabinet, ancpen toppedcontainer disposed within the confines of said wall members with its topsubstantially coinciding with the open top of said cabinet, saidcontainer extending downwardly approximately to the bottom of said frontand back wall members, inturned flanges on said front and back wall.

members, means extending between and supported by said flanges forsupporting said container, rigid connecting members extending betweensaid end wall members adjacent the bottoms thereof and in substantialvertical alinement with said front and back wall members, inturned angeson said rigid connecting members, and a platform carried below saidcontainer by the inturned anges of said rigid connecting members.

2. An open topped cabinet for articles to be cooled comprising aplurality of vertically extending` and connected sheet metal front,back, and end walls, said end walls extending below the front and backwalls and forming a supporting structure for the cabinet, an open toppedcontainer disposed within the confines of said wall members with its topsubstantially coinciding ,with the open top of said cabinet, saidcontainer extending downwardly approximately to the bottom of said frontand back wall members, inturned anges provided on the front and backwall members, means extending between and supported by said flanges forsupporting said container, rigid connecting members extending betweensaid end wall members adjacent the bottoms thereof and in substantialvertical alinement with said front and back wall members, a platformcarried below said container by said rigid connecting members, and feetmembers attached to said rigid connecting members and to said platformmember.

3. An open topped cabinet for articles to be cooled comprising aplurality of vertically extending and connected sheet metal front, back,and end walls, said end walls extending below the front and back wallsand forming a supporting structure for the cabinet, an open toppedcontainer disposed within the confines of said wall members with its topsubstantially coinciding with the open top of said cabinet, saidcontainer extending'downwardly approximately to the bottom of said frontand back wall members, inturned flanges on said front and back wallmembers, means extending between and supported by said flanges forsupporting said container, rigid connecting members extending betweensaid end wall members adjacent the bottoms thereof and in substantialvertical alinement with said front and back wall members, a plurality ofstrut members extending between said rigid connecting members, and feetmembers connected to said rigid connecting members and to some of saidstrut members.

GREGG F. FORS'I'HOEFEL.

